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US-China Relations

China Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson: US’ Malicious Intent Well Understood Globally

According to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua News Agency, on November 11 a reporter at the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s regular press conference asked: “According to reports, on November 8th, the U.S. State Department issued a statement supporting the Philippines’ enactment of the ‘Maritime Zones Law,’ stating that this law aligns Philippine domestic law with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the 2016 South China Sea arbitration ruling. The U.S. values the Philippines’ leadership in upholding international law, particularly in the South China Sea, and urges countries to align their maritime claims with international maritime law as reflected in UNCLOS. What is China’s response to this?”

Lin Jian, the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson, responded that “the U.S., motivated by its geopolitical interests, has continuously instigated and encouraged the Philippines to provoke disputes and infringe on China’s rights in the South China Sea for many years,” and that “the U.S. has the malicious intent of sowing discord – a motive well understood by the world.”

“The U.S. repeatedly demands that other countries abide by UNCLOS, yet it refuses to join the convention itself. This is a classic example of hypocritical ‘double standards,’” Lin said. He added that the South China Sea arbitration case itself violates UNCLOS and is nothing more than a political farce; its so-called ruling is illegal and invalid.

Source: Xinhua, November 11, 2024
http://www.news.cn/world/20241111/971595e582a14647a174547196b585aa/c.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Geo-Strategic Trend US-China Relations

Chinese State Media Mocks US Election as ‘Battle of Five Presidents’ While Analysts Warn of Propaganda Motives

On the eve of the US presidential election, China’s state television CCTV posted a topic on Weibo about “Five US Presidents in a Chaos Battle,” which quickly became a trending topic. Chinese netizens reacted to the post with mockery and criticism of the US electoral system by Chinese netizens. The five presidents mentioned in the post were Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Barak Obama, Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter, all of whom were politically active during this last election cycle.

CCTV’s post described President Biden as “out,” Trump as “nearly physically eliminated due to assassination attempts,” and claimed former presidents Obama, Clinton, and Carter were “interfering” (in the election cycle), turning the election into a “battle of five kings.” The post garnered 150 million views and sparked extensive discussion.

Chinese social media users criticized the US election process, with some describing it as lacking civility and democratic atmosphere, comparing it to a marketplace quarrel or gang fight. The topic “#USElection” attracted nearly 15.3 billion views on Weibo.

Analysts note that this coverage is part of China’s internal propaganda strategy to shape public opinion against the US democratic system. An anonymous source from Chongqing stated that Chinese state media regularly crafts anti-US narratives to control public opinion while avoiding any mention of internal political conflicts within the CCP.

Dr. Du Shengcong, a media expert from Taiwan’s Ming Chuan University, describes the Weibo post as “gaseous language” – low-brow statements meant to reach mass audiences. He said that “state media should be more responsible in their reporting” to avoid misinterpretation. He noted,
despite pre-election chaos, US democratic institutions continue to function normally after elections.”

Source: Voice of America, November 5, 2024
https://www.voachinese.com/a/cctv-paints-the-us-elections-in-a-bad-light/7852130.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Lianhe Zaobao: Chinese Military Developed AI Tools Based on Meta’s AI Models

Singapore’s primary Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao recently reported that, in a paper published in June this year, six Chinese military researchers detailed how they used an early version of Meta’s Llama large language model (LLM) to build their ChatBIT model. These researchers named on the publication are from the Military Scientific Information Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, the National Defense Science and Technology Innovation Institute, the Beijing Institute of Technology, and the Minzu University of China.

The Chinese researchers utilized the Llama 2 13B large-scale language model released by Meta in February 2023. Combined with their own parameters, they built a military-focused artificial intelligence tool for collecting and processing intelligence to provide accurate and reliable information for combat decision-making. The paper states that, after fine-tuning, ChatBIT was optimized for question-and-answer tasks in the military field and that its performance exceeded other artificial intelligence models.

Reportedly, the Chinese models are approximately 90 percent as capable as OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4. The Chinese researchers did not elaborate on how they measured performance or on whether the AI model is already in use in the field.

Meta has publicly released many AI models, including Llama, and has imposed licensing restrictions on the use of these models. Specifically, Meta prohibits the use of its models for “military, war, nuclear industry and espionage.” Meta’s public policy director Molly Montgomery said “Any use of our model by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is unauthorized and violates our acceptable use policy.”

A fierce debate is ongoing in the U.S. national security and technology community over the consequences of technology companies such as Meta making their models public.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, November 1, 2024
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/china/story20241101-5283840

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

RFI Chinese: TSMC Stops Supplying China’s SOPHGO

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that TechInsights, a technology research company, discovered TSMC chips when disassembling Huawei’s Ascend 910B processor (which contains multiple chips). TSMC notified the United States after learning of the news. The chips ordered from TSMC by Chinese company SOPHGO are consistent with the chips found in Huawei’s Ascend 910B multi-chip processor. To protect U.S. national security, Huawei was banned from purchasing this technology. TSMC decided to stop supply after discovering that the chips supplied to this customer were ultimately used in Huawei products.

The U.S. Department of Commerce said it was aware of reports of possible violations of U.S. export control regulations but did not comment on whether there were related investigations underway. SOPHGO, which is affiliated with cryptocurrency mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain, did not respond to a request for comment. Huawei did not respond to a request for comment either. TSMC declined to comment.

Source: RFI Chinese, October 26, 2024
https://tinyurl.com/2uwaw84r

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology US-China Relations

Xinhua Commentary: US Trade Restrictions Have Ruined ASML and the Global Industrial Chain

Xinhua News Agency published a commentary on ASML’s recent drop in stock price. Below are some key excerpts from the article.

Due to lower-than-expected orders and a downgraded performance outlook, Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML recently experienced a sharp decline in its stock price, losing its title as Europe’s most valuable tech company. Many market analysts believe that U.S. restrictions are key drivers behind ASML’s drop in orders, asserting that U.S. hegemonic actions are detrimental to global industrial development and free trade.

It is a common tactic for the U.S. to use “national security” as a pretext to suppress foreign companies and “sanctions” to maintain its competitiveness. The U.S. presents itself as a “defender of free trade,” but it follows “market rules” at will. When leading in technology and holding a strong market position, it champions “free competition.” When other nations make significant technological advances that could challenge its economic and technological dominance, it disregards “market rules,” instead resorting to extreme measures and forming alliances to relentlessly suppress foreign enterprises, including those of its allies.

In the 1980s, when Japan’s high-tech sector posed a challenge to the U.S., the U.S. imposed anti-dumping tariffs and sanctioned companies like Toshiba. The U.S. “long-arm jurisdiction” tactics dismantled prominent French manufacturer Alstom. Targeting India’s steel, Canada’s lumber, and Brazilian agricultural products, the U.S. has employed a range of non-market strategies. It also adds more foreign companies to export control lists and enacts the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, to attract more semiconductor and renewable energy firms to invest and build facilities in the U.S., and block other countries’ products from entering the U.S. market. The U.S. has also targeted electric vehicles (EVs), imposing a 100 percent tariff on Chinese EVs and threatening to ban Chinese software and hardware in networked and autonomous vehicles on American roads. Recently, the U.S. government is even considering restricting sales of advanced AI chips to specific countries, particularly in the Gulf region. These policies severely disrupt business operations, hinder market expectations, and obstruct normal industry growth.

The U.S.’s “freedom” of arbitrarily wielding power comes at the cost of the “unfreedom” faced by ASML and other international companies.

Source: Xinhua, October 19, 2024
http://www.news.cn/20241019/1c9f5f13984e4e63bfbbad7171992f3c/c.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

RFI Chinese: Poll Shows Americans’ Favorability Towards China Hits Record Low

Radio France Internationale (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that, Chicago Council on Global Affairs just released its new poll results on China favorability. Poll questions are rated from 0 to 100, and the average score was 26, down from 32 in 2022 – the lowest since the organization began conducting surveys in 1978, before the United States and China established diplomatic relations. However, Americans do not want the competition between the two countries to turn into war. The American public’s primary concern for bilateral relations is to avoid military conflicts.

More than half (56 percent) of Americans surveyed believe that trade between the two countries weakens U.S. national security, and 79 percent support banning U.S. companies from selling sensitive high-tech products to China, up from 71 percent three years ago. Around 55 percent of Americans currently support increasing tariffs on Chinese products, down from 62 percent in 2021. Even as the U.S. political situation becomes increasingly polarized, data shows that surveyed Republicans and Democrats are consistent in their negative attitudes toward China. However, the two parties differ on how to formulate policies to deal with the threat from China.

Source: RFI Chinese, October 25, 2024
https://tinyurl.com/5sp87c67

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations